Archive Storage Cabinet
SKU: FL-LB-006
4-drawer archive cabinet, lockable, grey powder-coated steel.
| Material | SPCC cold-rolled steel (1.0-1.2mm) |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing Process | Laser cutting + bending + welding + powder coating |
| Surface Finish | Powder coating (grey RAL 7035) |
| Tolerance | ±0.5mm |
| Dimensions | 900×450×1300mm |
| Drawers | 4 (full suspension) |
| Load | 50kg/drawer |
| Lock | Central |
| MOQ | 30 units |
| Lead Time | Quoted after drawing review and process confirmation |
| Sample Time | Quoted after drawing review and process confirmation |
| Sample Fee | USD 220 |
| Price Range | USD 220-320/unit |
| Applications | Archives, offices, libraries |
| Compliance | ANSI/BIFMA, EN 14073 |
| Export Markets | USA, Germany, UAE |
How This Archive Storage Cabinet Is Fabricated and Checked
An archive cabinet carries paper, and paper is heavy. The load sits on the shelves rather than on the sides, and the doors have to keep working when the unit is fully loaded.
| Stage | What happens | What is verified before the job moves on |
|---|---|---|
| Panel and shelf forming | Side panels, doors, top, base and intermediate shelves laser cut and formed | Panel square and shelf flatness. Archive shelves are short but heavily loaded, so flatness under load is the requirement rather than flatness on the bench |
| Shelf support provision | Shelf supports made at the fixed or adjustable positions | Support pitch and the level of each shelf, because a document box only fits if the opening is even |
| Carcass welding and squaring | Carcass welded or mechanically joined, with reinforcement where the load sits | Diagonals and the door opening square. A loaded cabinet will not straighten a distorted carcass |
| Door fit and gasket | Doors hung with hinges and a lock, and a gasket where the contents need protection | Door alignment over the full height and lock engagement, checked with the cabinet standing as it will be used |
| Surface preparation and coating | Degrease, phosphate, then powder coat | Film thickness and coverage inside the cabinet, where the environment is the same environment |
| Load check | The cabinet loaded with representative weight, then the doors worked | That the doors still open and close with the shelves loaded, which is the condition it will actually be used in |
| Packing | Wrapped with the doors braced and corners protected | The packed unit. A cabinet this size is handled as a unit and the doors are the vulnerable part |
Adjusting Archive Storage Cabinet Without New Tooling
What an archive cabinet is specified around is what goes inside it, and that fixes the shelf pitch and the support.
| What can be changed | What it affects | What it does not affect |
|---|---|---|
| Height, width and depth | Panel sizes, shelf span and the packing | The door and lock design |
| Number of shelves and their pitch | Support positions, and what fits: document boxes, files or ledgers | The carcass |
| Fixed or adjustable shelves | Whether the opening can be changed after delivery | The shelf itself |
| Doors: solid, glazed or perforated | Visibility, dust protection and appearance | The carcass |
| Lock and access control | Which keying or management system the archive runs | The door structure |
| Colour and finish | Powder specification | Nothing structural |
Short Answers on Archive Storage Cabinet
What load should the shelves be rated for?
Paper is heavier than most people estimate, and archive boxes sit in a dense block rather than as a single stack. Give us the box or file type and the number of rows, and the shelf and its supports are checked against that load rather than against a general figure.
Why do the doors stop closing on a loaded cabinet?
Usually because the carcass was square when it was empty and deflects once it carries weight, or because the unit was levelled before loading and not afterwards. That is why the load check is done with the cabinet loaded, rather than as a dimensional check on an empty unit.
Can the cabinet be supplied with a gasket?
Yes, where the archive needs dust or moisture protection, and it changes the door design rather than just adding a strip. A gasketed door needs a different hinge and lock arrangement to compress the seal reliably, so it is worth raising at enquiry stage.
What goes in the cabinet decides the shelf, and the shelf decides everything above it. Send the document box or file type through the RFQ form and the pitch is set to it. Related: metal enclosure manufacturing, welding and surface finishing.
Drawer Load, Slides and the Anti-Tilt Rule
The number that matters on an archive cabinet is not the outer size, it is 50 kg per drawer on full-extension slides. Fifty kilograms of paper pulled out to full extension puts a large overturning moment on a cabinet that is only 450 mm deep and weighs far less than its contents. The standard answer is an interlock that allows one drawer open at a time, and it is a safety feature rather than a convenience – a cabinet with two loaded drawers out will come forward. We supply the interlock the drawing specifies and we raise it if a drawing omits one.
- Full-suspension slides need a true mounting face. The cabinet side panel has to be flat and the hole positions held, or the drawer binds at part travel.
- Sheet gauge of 1.0 to 1.2 mm works for a drawer body because the load is carried by the slide and the formed drawer, not by the panel thickness alone.
- A central lock is the usual spec; where a cabinet holds personal or confidential files, the keying arrangement matters more than the lock type.
Why Archive Storage Is a Different Cabinet From a Cupboard
Archive storage is dense, long-term and rarely moved, so the design drivers are different from a general cupboard: consistent internal dimensions that fit the file format, drawers that open smoothly after years of standing closed, and a finish that does not mark the contents. A grey powder coat at RAL 7035 is standard because it hides handling marks better than a light colour and looks correct in a records room.
If the files are a specific format – A4 suspension files, legal-size folders, box files – send the internal clear dimension you need rather than the outer cabinet size, and we will work back to the shell. That avoids the common problem of a cabinet that fits the room but not the contents. Lead time is quoted after drawing review and process confirmation.
Payment Terms
How a project is paid for is agreed before production starts, and the structure that applies to your order is stated on the quotation and on the order confirmation, so there is no ambiguity later.
- 30% advance payment with the order and the 70% balance before shipment — our standard structure.
- 70% advance payment with the order and the 30% balance before shipment — used for some projects.
- 100% payment in advance before production starts — used for some projects.
If your finance team works to a fixed structure, say so in the first enquiry and we will confirm what applies to your order before you commit. Request a quotation.
Questions buyers ask before sending drawings
The questions that come up most often before a project starts, answered the way we answer them by email.
What do you need from me to quote Archive Storage Cabinet?
2D drawings as PDF, DWG or DXF, or 3D files as STEP, IGES or SolidWorks, together with material grade, sheet thickness, surface finish, quantity and destination country. If the drawing is not finished yet, send a photo, a sketch or the existing part instead — we review what can be measured from it and reply with the questions that still need answering.
How long does a quotation take?
Enquiries are answered within one business day. Simple laser-cut and bent parts are quoted within 24 hours. Welded frames, assembled units and multi-part structures are quoted after the drawing review and process confirmation, and the date is confirmed in our reply.
Is there a minimum order quantity?
Prototypes are made from a single piece and small batches of 10–50 pieces are routine. Prototype, first batch and repeat volume are quoted together so the numbers stay consistent as the project scales.
Can you work from a sample or a photo if I have no drawing?
Yes. Send the part itself, clear photographs with a rule or caliper in frame, or a dimensioned sketch. We measure what can be measured, list what is still undefined, and confirm it with you before production.
Need a Similar Part?
Most enquiries that start on a page like this are not an order for Archive Storage Cabinet — they are a search for a factory that can make something like it. Send us your drawing, 3D model or sample and we will review the manufacturing process and the quotation requirements, then come back with a process plan, a price and a lead time.
We work from 2D drawings, STEP / DWG / DXF / PDF files, or a physical sample if that is all you have.
No complete drawings yet? Describe the part, send photos or a sketch, or send a sample — we can start from there. Discuss your project.
Trade Terms and Delivery
We quote under the standard Incoterms your logistics team already works with, and build the packing and documentation around the one you choose.
- EXW — you collect from our Ningbo facility and run export clearance through your own forwarder.
- FOB Ningbo — we deliver to the vessel at Ningbo port and handle export clearance.
- CIF — we cover carriage and insurance to your named destination port.
- DDP — we handle carriage, insurance, import clearance and duties through to your door.
Send your destination country, target delivery date and preferred trade term together with the drawing. Request a quotation.
Quotation Time
We quote from your drawings. How long that takes depends on what the part asks for:
- Simple parts — quoted within 24 hours. Laser-cut blanks and bent components, supplied with complete 2D or 3D drawings. Mon–Fri, GMT+8.
- Complex assemblies — quoted after the drawing review. Payment kiosks, multi-part welded frames, enclosures with purchased hardware, or anything needing a coating or assembly trial. We confirm a quotation date once the scope is clear.
Production lead time is quoted separately, after drawing review and process confirmation. Send your drawings.
What stands behind this quotation
- Manufacturing since 20162,500 m² Ningbo plant — 3 laser cutting machines (including newer TRUMPF), 4 CNC press brakes and 10 welding stations.
- Shipped to more than 30 export marketsEnclosures, cabinets and formed parts supplied to OEM buyers across Europe, North America and Asia.
- 123 documented product casesMedical device housings, HVAC and heat pump enclosures, agricultural and livestock equipment, industrial hydraulics, material handling trolleys and EV charging cabinets.
- Factory evidence you can checkTUV Rheinland audit reference MIC-ASI243729 and Bureau Veritas reference MIC-ASR263630 available for buyer review under NDA.
Before you send drawings: an NDA is signed on request · first-article inspection is carried out before a batch continues · pricing is staged from prototype quantity to repeat volume · pre-shipment photos and packing records are prepared when the project needs them.